Sean Brady sees UFC Vegas 97 as an opportunity to have a ‘true veteran fight’ against Gilbert Burns.
The pair battle it out in the main event of the UFC’s September 7 card in a Welterweight contest as Burns looks to get back to winnings ways and Brady tries to climb further up the 170lbs rankings.
Saturday night’s bout will see Brady inside the UFC Octagon for the first time since 2024, having beat Kelvin Gastelum by way of third round submission back in December of 2023. Ahead of the fight, Brady sat down with the media and first addressed his absence from competition. He said:
“I was supposed to fight Vicente I think, somewhere in the March area. I still had a little lingering injury from my Kelvin fight. I just needed a little bit more time. I was trying to get that fight rescheduled for April. Then it didn't come to fruition, but that's all right. So I've been just waiting since and they called with Gilbert for a main event.
"It was going to be July, then it was going to be August, and we finally land on September and we got locked in and here we are.”
Upon his return, the Welterweight admitted he was asking the UFC for a lot of different opponents, with Gilbert Burns being one of them. Now the fight has come to fruition, Brady is delighted and looking forward to testing himself against to testing himself against such a recognisable name.
“I was kind of asking for Gilbert. I was asking for a lot of guys, but Gilbert was definitely one of them.
“I respect Gilbert. He's an amazing fighter. He's done amazing things. He's fought for the belt, he had a competitive fight with some of the best guys. He had a great fight going with Jack until it didn't go his way. He's a great fighter, great competitor, and I'm just looking forward to testing myself against him. I think it's my first really, true veteran fight that I'm going to get to test myself against someone who's been there, done that.”
Burns comes into the main event on a two-fight skid, with losses to Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena in his last pair of bouts. Irrespective of his current run of form, Brady expects nothing but the best from ‘Durinho’.
"I'm expecting a very hard Gilbert to come out. He's lost his last two fights, but I would expect nothing less. If he won his last two fights, I would expect him to come out the same way. He's not a guy who's going to change anything, you know, he's going to train just as hard, come out and fight just as hard.
"Whether he's on a winning streak or a losing streak. I'm just looking forward to and I train for the best Gilbert."
After suffering the only loss of his professional career, to Belal Muhammad at UFC 280, a section of his fan base were quick to turn on him and discredit his achievements up until that point; only to return when he got back in the win column. The 31-year-old understands why it may have took a little time to get the fans back on his side and disclosed that the loss to Muhammad was one of the best things to happen to him as he can now focus on fighting and not protecting his unbeaten record.
"It was hard because I lost to Belal and then I came back, I was supposed to have a couple of fights, I had some injuries.
"So it just took a long to get back and prove to everyone but at the end of the day, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Like getting that pressure off of being undefeated, going out there. I felt like I was just not fighting to win fights, I was fighting to keep my undefeated record and once I lost, I felt such a relief. And then me getting hurt afterwards, I really had to sit in that and fix my injuries and then really refocus and just get some shit straight with my mind and that led to the Kelvin fight.
“That's led to me being a completely different fighter. But not only that, just a better human being and just enjoying every day and just being super grateful and present in what I do. I was always looking forward to the next thing, the next training and the next this, the next that. I'm just enjoying this, you know, I'm being where my feet are and just going one moment at a time.”
You can watch the full interview below:
